Who here has done a real life CESA and what was your experience?

[dpbishop]

Did a CESA from 80 fsw when the tank ran out of gas at the beginning of the dive. Since I was only a couple of minutes into the dive, DCS wasn't a big concern. Just started swimming up and blowing out. Never really worried, mostly just pissed off. A good Idea is to time your breath holding ability in a non-emergency setting so you can adjust your ascent rate to match.

 

[InTheDrink]

Just getting kids off to bed but my mind is already blown with some of the accounts already - thanks a million for sharing and some great, great advice in there.

Quick question for some of the posters - did anyone consider (or do) breathe from their BC? Or was it not viable in the heat of the moment: the heat of the moment being 'I need to get the **** out of dodge', all other priorities secondary. From the accounts it seems like getting on the move is the only course of action once other immediate options no longer present. I think keeping reg in mouth great advice too - it sounds like even drawing hard against a practically non-existence air source assists with the desire to expel CO2 and take a fresh breath (of water).

God tho - some of the accounts here are really hair raising. I'm not surprised NetDoc decided on a somewhat extended sabbatical nor some other posters being somewhat circumspect about telling wives. Don't know whether to thank posters individually or collectively but when the **** hits the fan, the level of detail here is of paramount use, such as not blowing your (bubble) beans too soon at depth and over 'ahhh'ing.

Thanks again: very interesting, instructive - and gripping - reading!

J

 

[DA Aquamaster]

"Bag breathing" was taught and discussed in the mid 80's when I got my open water cert and at the time they sold BC sanitizers to ensure you did not get a lung infection doing it or practicing it. The advantage is that the deeper you are the more gas is in the BC. It is usable O2 and it also gives you a greater volume of gas in which to dilute the CO2 you are producing - sort of a really short term poor man's rebreather.

But it is not something that ever really caught on, perhaps due to more reliable methods such as a (rare) reliable buddy or a pony tank and perhaps due to the health issues of breathing out of a less than clean BC bladder.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

"Bag breathing" was taught and discussed in the mid 80's when I got my open water cert and at the time they sold BC sanitizers to ensure you did not get a lung infection doing it or practicing it. The advantage is that the deeper you are the more gas is in the BC. It is usable O2 and it also gives you a greater volume of gas in which to dilute the CO2 you are producing - sort of a really short term poor man's rebreather.

But it is not something that ever really caught on, perhaps due to more reliable methods such as a (rare) reliable buddy or a pony tank and perhaps due to the health issues of breathing out of a less than clean BC bladder.

Ditto. It was discussed by our instructor, but we never tried it. BC's were not widely used yet, we used "safety vests" with a tube-type inflator (like you see on airline life vests) and CO2 cartidge for "emergency use". The tube-type inflator was not as user-friendly as the current inflators are. I think it would have been pretty tough to breath in and out from them while stressed, so I never considered it an option. And as octo's were not widely used yet (and not used in the class), we learned buddy-breathing ascents.

 

[InTheDrink]

Hmm, seems strange why it's not taught at all now (bag breathing) - I would have thought a lung infection would be the lesser of the evils on offer, given the choice?

Re CESA experiences: did you people dump air from your BCs as you ascended (those who had BCs!) in order to maintain safe ascent rate or does that become somewhat academic as one's lung's start feeling like they're ready to explode? I guess this is more relevant with deeper CESAs.

PADI recommend doing a CESA if 9m (30ft) or shallower, and a buoyant emergency ascent, i.e. ditching ones weights, if deeper. Would that be the feeling from those who have had the dubious honour of being able to speak from experience? Or would people suggest doing a CESA and then only if it appeared unlikely to make it to the surface that weights be ditched?

And any more experiences out there would provide even greater wealth of knowledge...

Thanks again, J

 

[Br44]

Hi,

Just wondering about people's real life experiences of CESA's is. I've never had to do one and hopefully never will but would be interested to hear how the theory translated into reality for those who have had to do it.

1. Why did it happen?
2. What depth?
3. What was your reaction?
4. What was your ascent rate?
5. Did you have to go to the chamber?
6. General experience/thoughts/advice/anything else relevant

TIA,
John

i had to do a CESA once........ ran out of air at 50' i went at a rate of 1-2 feet a sec
i was a little scared
turns out one of my buddys was pulling a prank on me and turned off my air

 

[themagni]

I think they avoid teaching BC breathing is because by the time you've realized that you're out of air, you switch to your BC supply, and then take a breath, you could have spent that time swimming up 20-30 feet. When you couple that with the "Boyle breath" you can steal as you're ascending, it is likely counterproductive to your survival to breathe your BC air. You've got MAYBE one breath out of that, and it's of dubious quality. I also tend to dive with my BC deflated, so there may not even be air in there in the first place, and now you've lost precious seconds. Moreover, you're pulling an unknown amount of air out of your BC -- your ascent will be slower. What if you hit negative buoyancy because you took too much air out of your BC?

But, bad air is still air. As they say in land survival, if you're going to die of thirst, drink the dubious water. They can cure bad water; they can't cure dead. So technically, I suppose breathing from your BC would work. The problem is that if you're taking too long to fark around with your BC, you're delaying your switch to atmospheric, and that's your top priority.

They didn't even teach buddy breathing in my OW class. Our instructor said, "by the time you're doing this, you should either CESA or ditch your weights."

 

[InTheDrink]

i had to do a CESA once........ ran out of air at 50' i went at a rate of 1-2 feet a sec
i was a little scared
turns out one of my buddys was pulling a prank on me and turned off my air

Yeah, I've heard that joke. My buddy's ex-navy friends used to do it all the time. Personally I'd repay the favour and serve a similar dish, but colder. I find iit's best served cold.

 

[hobodiver]

I think they avoid teaching BC breathing is because by the time you've realized that you're out of air, you switch to your BC supply, and then take a breath, you could have spent that time swimming up 20-30 feet. When you couple that with the "Boyle breath" you can steal as you're ascending, it is likely counterproductive to your survival to breathe your BC air. You've got MAYBE one breath out of that, and it's of dubious quality. I also tend to dive with my BC deflated, so there may not even be air in there in the first place, and now you've lost precious seconds. Moreover, you're pulling an unknown amount of air out of your BC -- your ascent will be slower. What if you hit negative buoyancy because you took too much air out of your BC?

But, bad air is still air. As they say in land survival, if you're going to die of thirst, drink the dubious water. They can cure bad water; they can't cure dead. So technically, I suppose breathing from your BC would work. The problem is that if you're taking too long to fark around with your BC, you're delaying your switch to atmospheric, and that's your top priority.

They didn't even teach buddy breathing in my OW class. Our instructor said, "by the time you're doing this, you should either CESA or ditch your weights."

The air you inhale would go into your lungs at ambient pressure (and volume), so the effect on buoyancy should be zero (or very close to it).

 

[Rhone Man]

One of the better threads on SB, this one. I had assumed it would be pretty rare, but there it is.